Rapid Fire Current Affairs | 27 May 2023

Night Traps of Mig-29k Onboard Vikrant

The INS Vikrant, India's first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier and the most complex warship constructed by M/s Cochin Shipyard Ltd was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2022, providing a significant boost to the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ vision of the Indian government.

Currently, the Aircraft Carrier is undergoing Air Certification and Flight Integration Trials, involving both Rotary Wing and Fixed Wing aircraft, in order to achieve a state of full combat readiness as soon as possible.

During the ongoing trials, the first successful day landing of MiG-29K and the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) aircraft was accomplished. Another historic milestone has been achieved by the Navy with the inaugural night landing of the MiG-29K, marking a significant accomplishment.

Bulgarian Writer Wins International Booker Prize 2023

Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov and translator Angela Rodel won the International Booker Prize 2023 for Time Shelter. It is a dark comic novel about the dangerous appeal of nostalgia. The 50,000 pounds in prize money is divided between the author and translator.
This is the first time a novel originally published in Bulgarian has won the annual award, given to a work of fiction translated into English and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year.
Time Shelter has also won Italy’s Strega European Prize for literature in Italian translation.

The International Booker Prize is awarded every year to a translated work of fiction published in the U.K. or Ireland. It is run alongside the Booker Prize for English-language fiction, which will be handed out in the autumn.
Last year’s (2022) winners of the International Booker Prize were Indian writer Geetanjali Shree and American translator Daisy Rockwell for “Tomb of Sand.”

PCIM&H ‘e-office’ and Online Portal

The Union Minister of Ayush visited Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), and inaugurated “e-Office portal of PCIM&H” and “Online portal”. Online portal is for selling the softcopies of pharmacopoeial monographs.
Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) under Ministry of Ayush is actively engaged in Standardization and Quality Control of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathy (ASU&H) drugs and is publishing the standards in the form of Pharmacopoeias.
The “e-Office portal of PCIM&H” and the “online portal” is for selling the softcopies of pharmacopoeia monographs”. The online portal will promote the hassle-free reach of pharmacopeia monographs among stakeholders across the world.

UDAN 5.1, Specifically Designed for Helicopter Routes

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched UDAN 5.1 to further enhance the connectivity to remote areas of the country and achieve last mile connectivity through helicopters.
For the first time under Regional Connectivity Scheme - UDAN, this round is designed specifically for helicopter routes.
The scheme will now allow routes where one of the origin or destination locations is in a priority area. Earlier both points had to be priority areas.
Airfare caps have been reduced by 25% to make flying in helicopters more affordable for passengers.
Viability Gap Funding (VGF) caps for the operators have been increased substantially for both single and twin-engine helicopters to enhance financial viability for operating the awarded routes.
The latest round of UDAN scheme is a testament to two emerging phenomena in Indian civil aviation: One is a deeper democratization of air travel with a focus on last-mile connectivity. Second is a growing appetite for helicopters in aiding tourism.
It may be mentioned that up to date 46 helicopter routes have been operationalized under previous rounds of the scheme benefiting several hilly and Northeast states and this round is targeting coverage of a much larger number of routes.